


Manipulated Bliss

by orphan_account



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And During Squip, Angst, Basically Mind Control, Drama Squad is all mentioned but not really, Electrocution, I'll add more as this progresses, Jeremy has a crush on Michael not Christine, Jeremy needs help, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Post-Squip, The Squip appears as Michael for majority of the story, because I hate myself, electrocution scars
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-11 12:16:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11148219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jeremy had taken the Squip pill with high hopes, but quickly finds out that this is not what he wanted.  The Squip slowly takes over Jeremy in the illusion that this is what Jeremy must do if he want Michael to love him.Michael knows something is wrong with his best friend, but will he be able to save him before some computer parasite leaves him as nothing but a shell of his former self?





	Manipulated Bliss

**Author's Note:**

> I swear I've put a lot of thought into this, it might not actually suck.
> 
> I also promise that it gets better, just gotta set up the plot and shit for a little bit :D

Jeremy took in a shaky breath as he lifted the sketchy pill up to his mouth, "Al-All right, here g-goes... everything."

He swallowed the pill with the Mountain Dew like instructed, and waited for some sort of reaction.

_Something..._

_**Anything.** _

"So, how does it taste? How do you feel?" Michael asked him, breaking the awkward silence as his friend kept waiting.

"It tastes... m-minty? And I feel like... a chump," He responded solemnly and slightly aggravated.

"Well, try saying something cool!" Michael suggested. It was worth a shot at least.

"I... think I j-just blew my bar mitzvah money on a Wintergreen T-Tic-Tac," Jeremy sighed, God knows how he was expected supposed to explain that to his dad. Michael tried to be supportive, but there was no good way to do that when he had just watched his best friend buy a mint for $400.

"Leave me to mourn in my chili fries, f-forever," Jeremy groaned, letting his head lay face-first on the cold table right next to his basket of fries. While chili fries are good and all, Jeremy didn't exactly feel like shoving his face into them given what he had just done.

"I don't think I can do forever, _but_ I'll give you five minutes, I'm going to assume you'll be wallowing in disappointment and chili fries when I get back?" Michael asked, but he already knew the answer. Jeremy gave him a thumbs up, but not before asking where he was going off and abandoning him to in his lowest moment. 

"Okay, so there's this guy who works at Spencer's Gifts who's hooking me up with a case of Crystal Pepsi. It's like regular Pepsi," he paused for a moment, looking his friend straight in the eyes, "but clear." He got Jeremy to laugh a bit at his unnecessary seriousness and Michael eventually joined him. 

"While that s-sounds amazing, wasn't that discontinued in th-the 90's or something?"

"Yeah, but that's what makes it so awesome!" He answered, seeming way too excited about a case of discontinued soda. 

Jeremy sat and waited for a bit, poking at the aforementioned chili fries and maybe eating a few. His mind started to drift to Michael and all the little details about him that the boy loved. He does have to admit, it was a nice little daydream, but it was quickly cut off by a sharp pain in his head. 

_[Target Male: Inaccessible]_

'Target male'? What is that supposed to even mean? Why inaccessible?

_[Calibration in progress. Please excuse some mild discomfort.]_

"M-Mild?" Jeremy accidentally questioned out loud before being racked with pain he had never experienced. He tried my best to keep it all concealed, not really wanting to cause a scene at a public mall. Not up for it today, or any day if he could really help it.

_[Calibration complete. Access procedure initiated]_

The pain subsided for a moment, relief flooding the teen’s body. You could definitely put that on a list of things Jeremy Heere could for sure say he’d never want to experience that again, holy hell.

_[Discomfort level may increase]_

The pain instantaneously returned, and a good 10 times worse than before. He bit down on his tongue, hoping to reduce the screams coming from his throat that he failed to hold back. The mall, in hindsight, was probably not the best place to take a sketchy pill. 

_[Accessing: neural memory]_

Jeremy clenched his fists, knuckles quickly becoming white, and it was probably safe to say that his tongue or cheek was definitely bleeding.

_[Accessing: muscle memory]_

His brain felt ready to explode, at least more than it normal does. Then, for the second time, the pain faded as quickly as it came, leaving a numb sensation all over his body.

_[Access procedure: complete]_

That's good, right?

_[Jeremiah Heere...]_

_And great, this disembodied voice can not only give me unimaginable pain, tell me that the "target male" is inaccessible, but also knows my name. Fuck, what else does this sketchy voice know?_

Suddenly, cutting Jeremy’s attention away from his mind ramblings, there's a guy in front of him and the table. He's probably in his twenties if Jeremy had to guess, and he looks impressively like Keanu Reeves?

_[Welcome to your Super Quantum Intel Unit Processor... Your SQUIP.]_

The voice echoed around in Jeremy’s head while he processed everything for a second. 

_Wait... The Wintergreen Tic-Tac worked! Or I'm just losing it, but I want to feel better about wasting $400, so I'm going with that the Tic-Tac actually worked._

"You l-lo-look like K-Keanu Reeves..."

The Squip's face deadpanned. Normal ass Jeremy Heere gets to talk to a super computer inside his brain, and the first thing he says is that it looks like Keanu Reeves. Smooth, Jeremy, super fucking smooth there.

_[It's my default mode. Let's not think too much about it]_

"O-Okay, I guess?" The teen chose to trust the Squip, seeing as it was, again, a super computer and he was a 17 year old high school student in New Jersey.

"So, uh, c-can everyone s-see you, or....?" Jeremy wondered, seeing as it was probably best to answer that question sooner rather than later.

_[I exist only in your mind. All everybody else can see is you, having an animated conversation with yourself. So stop doing that. Just, think at me, like you're telepathic.]_

_So, like, X-men?_

_[I can see that this is going to be difficult. You want to be more chill.]_

_...You mean cool?_

_[I do not. You see, human social activity is governed by a set of rules and I have the processing capacity to understand those rules. And pass them onto you.]_

Well this is not what Jeremy was expecting, but then again, what was he expecting really, he has chosen to trust Rich and here he was. And, where was Michael, Jeremy thought he'd be back by now at least... As much as he would have loved to wonder about what was taking Michael so long picking up his Crystal Pepsi, the Squip wanted his full attention.

_[Take your hands out of your pockets, arch your back, and puff out your chest.]_

Jeremy did what he was told, albeit it definitely felt uncomfortable compared to hid usual posture. But, he wasn't exactly in any position to question the commands the Squip had given him. 

_[All your nerdiness is ugly, and your stammering's a chore.]_

_I mean, I always t-thought I was more of a geek, but o-okay..._

Jeremy now knew that despite not even talking and just thinking, that he still stuttered in the presence of authority. His hands began to drift back into the soft sleeves of his cardigan, leaving only his fingers showing, but the Squip was quick to scold him for it. Jeremy could tell that this relationship is gonna be just great... he couldn’t wait...

_[Everything about you is so terrible]_

_I can't really find fault with that one, you've got a solid argument there._

Despite the bizarre situation, you can bet your ass that Jeremy would still find a way to throw in some self-deprecating humor, even if Michael wasn’t there to jokingly add onto it.

_[Everything about you makes me want to die]_

_Jesus Christ_

I mean, Jeremy knew perfectly well that he was a total loser and all, that why he was halfway desperate enough to believe Rich’s story, but making a computer want to die? That's a depressing world record, fuck.

_[So, just don't freak out, and don't resist. Have no doubt, if I assist, you will be more chill.]_

Throughout the Squip's rant over how terrible everything about Jeremy was, his posture began to resort to its comfortable, usual state. Until a shock of electricity runs down his spine, making the teen shoot straight up to how the Squip wanted him to be.

_Did you- Did you just shock me?_

_[Spinal stimulation. You were slouching.]_

Okay, so a fancy way of say electrocution, neat, just another thing for Jeremy to look forward to.

_[First things first, go buy a new shirt.]_

_A new shirt? What's wrong w-with my—_

_[It's better if you just comply. Step and fetch, don't ask me why.]_

_Bu-But, Michael, he's supposed t-to meet me back here_

Jeremy could feel the Squip's glare digging into him externally and internally.

_[Your friend will still exist when we get back, don't worry.]_

_Well, yeah I would hope so, but he said he'd only be five minutes, I don't think he'll take that long._

_[Jeremy.]_

The Squip's tone sounded threatening, but Jeremy kept pushing. While he’d like to trust the computer, Michael comes first. He’d rather wait for his player one here than go buy a new shirt and ditch him for his own personal gain. The world is like a two-player game, if you leave your brother behind, it's lame.

_**[Jeremy Heere.]** _

He stayed sitting, waiting for Michael to turn around the corner before the Squip does God know what for not just 'stepping and fetching'. 

_** [Jeremiah Heere!] ** _

Jeremy felt another shock ripple down his back and resisted the urge to scream out into the crowded mall for the ten millionth time in the past hour.

 _And what was that one for exactly?_

Jeremy could already guess the answer, but for some reason he wanted to hear it from the Squip.

_[I told you before, just do what I say and everything will work out. If you want to reach your goals, just step and fetch, and don't ask me why.]_

_And what exactly is so important about this shirt? I'm sure it will still be there when Michael gets back. Well go then, I promise._

And another shock, fucking hell this Squip has no mercy.

 _[I thought I said don't ask, I did say that didn't I, Jeremy?]_

This was quickly becoming more pointless than it was to begin with. All he’s gotten is a more aggravated Squip and two totally not painful shocks. Maybe the Squip had a valid point.

 _[What if I just do this?]_

For a second the Squip's physical form disappeared, but came back looking completely different. Instead of a Keanu Reeves look-alike, the Squip had taken the appearance of Michael. Jeremy would be lying if he said it wasn't creepy.

_[There, now it's like your little friend Michael is here with you and we can go get a new shirt for you.]_

_Well yeah, but you're not actually Michael. My Michael would still think that I ditched him._

_[Jeremy, please, stop being so difficult and just follow my instructions, it's for the better]_

_Alright fine, just at least let me text Michael to let him know where I went? Then we can buy the shirt you're so insistent on buying._

The Squip didn't respond, so he took it as a yes, but quickly. He grabbed his phone from the table and sent Michael a quick little text, just to let him know that Jeremy didn't totally ditch him. Once the message was delivered, Jeremy put his phone into his pocket and started to walk to one of the nearby clothing stores in the mall. There were a couple around, but there was one that the Squip seemed to want me to go to. As Jeremy walked in, he saw Brooke Lohst and Chloe Valentine leave, and it was probably for the better he had just missed them. 

_[Well there goes that plan...]_

The Squip seemed to be angry, Jeremy could guess the Squip wanted me him to run into Brooke and Chloe, but he was still glad he didn't. He looked around at a couple of the shirts they were selling, but Jeremy still thought his wardrobe was fine how it was.

 _[Just... Buy this one.]_

The Squip, who still looked identical to Michael, pointed at a shirt with a picture of Eminem. Jeremy couldn't help but think if people still actually listened to Eminem. Regardless, he decided to just not question the Squip's decision and just buy the shirt so he could meet back up with Michael in the food court.

As they were-, well Jeremy was walking back to the tables he was sitting at before, he saw Michael hanging around the food stall where Jeremy had bought his chili fries from earlier. The Squip began to walk in front of him for whatever reason, and for the record, seeing a duplicate of your best friend and your actual best friend standing next to each other is super weird and something else Jeremy never would have expected to see. 

"Ay, Jeremy, you're back!" Michael greeted his friend with a warm smile, quite a different expression than the stoic, cold expression the Squip used his face for.

"I told you I didn't ditch you! What took you so long anyway? I'm pretty sure you took a bit more than the 5 minutes you told me." Jeremy questioned, leaving out the part about the Squip shocking me for staying and waiting for him. Truthfully, he didn’t completely care how late he had been, it’s not like Michael had a reason to actually stick to his five minute promise. 

"It's nothing that important, the guy just had to deal with some customers, ya know?" He casually responded, probably slightly curious as to why Jeremy wanted to know. 

"And no offense, but what happened when I was gone? You look like ass dude, what's wrong?"

"Long story? Want to go back and hang in your basement, we still have a bunch of zombie ass to kick, remember?" He responded with a smile, at least Jeremy could still count on Michael to not bullshit him. 

"Yeah, definitely! But I still expect you to give me some sort of shitty reason, just in case you thought you'd get out of it," Michael agreed and warned him. Jeremy already knew he’d have to tell Michael about the Squip, they tell each other everything, but he planned to leave out the whole waiting for him to come back part, he don't want him to feel bad about it. 

_[Choosing not to tell him? Here I thought you told each other everything.]_

They told each other _mostly_ everything.

_I mean, yeah, but, I don't want him to think it's his fault, I was the one who chose to stay..._

_[Hm, so you're willing to put his wellbeing in front of your own? That doesn't seem very beneficial towards your own survival.]_

_Well, that's okay with me, I can't leave my brother behind, we always have each other's backs._

_[But he's not your brother?]_

_Figure of speech. But if I can help it, I'll always put Michael's life and happiness in front of my own_

_[I see... You're quite an interesting being, Jeremy Heere.]_

_Thank you?_

Jeremy guessed he could take that as a compliment, but the Squip seemed to be taking notes about something. We got to Michael's PT Cruiser without another word from the Squip.


End file.
